Maturus Empire
The Maturus Empire is a constitutional monarchy in the south-eastern peninsula of Lethoso. It's realm borders the Ltihidar Kingdom to the north and Kolis Beleca to the west with several island territories to the east and south. The official borders of the Maturus Empire make it the largest nation in Lethoso. The empire is also one of the wealthiest countries in the world having established most of the many trade routes throughout the continent. The empire was created after the Three Kingdoms War when the separate states of the Corisian race were joined together during the Age of the Sword. After the War of Darkness and the Dust Depression swept the Spirit nations, the empire experienced the Maturian Revolution which split the absolute monarchy into a dual-chambered executive with a constitutional monarchy and a council system. History Before the Three Kingdoms War The Corisian migration from Toven was fragmented and settlement areas were initially based on racial faction. The first government of the Corisians was the Province of Bank, which was a loose collection of Bankian villages of the south Kurgen River held together by primitive democratic ideals. Soon after the establishment of the Province, the Syltio faction of Corisians began flooding into the area over a relatively short time span which so suddenly increased the population of the Province that it became completely infeasible to retain the democratic structure. As the people of the Province began to transition themselves into a new form of rule, one of the self-appointed representatives of the Syltians named Corlus began a campaign to convince the people to support him as the ruler of combined "southern people". Corlus was successful in his campaign and was named the first ruler of the Southern Kingdom. Soon after the establishment of the Southern Kingdom, the Lithidarians overthrew the old state of Maredocia and created the more religious Lithidar Kingdom and threatened to conquer the entire Kurgen River. Corlus took actions to establish an official church of the growing Eiyastn religion to quickly grow an army to fight back against the Lithidarians. Meanwhile the Rohelin and Daedran factions settled along the western half of the southern peninsula with the Rohelin clans inhabiting the Belcan region while the Daedra settling just north of the Belon Moutains. The Rohelin clans experienced the birth of Eiyastn among their own when the prophet Maya foretold the coming of a great wave of hatred and that only the god of creation, Maksus, could protect them. The prophet Maya eventually united the Rohelin clans under a divine rule of Eiyastn and became the first Queen of the Rohin Kingdom. Eiyastn spread quickly among the Corisians and was eventually established as the official religion of the Southern Kingdom as well, though mainly for political purposes. By the Age of the Sail the Rohin Kingdom and Southern had grown to their peak while the Daedra avoided large forms of government and lived in independent city-states, the collection of which was referred to as the Daedra Territories. Tensions and skirmishes between the Southern Kingdom and the Lithidar Kingdom had come to a boiling point with the eruption of the First Dominion War. When the war ended over a year later the defeated Southern Kingdom entered in a new conflict when the Rohin Kingdom declared war on a perceived weakened Southern Kingdom to control their land. The Rohin's attack initiated the Three Kingdoms War which ended with the Southern Kingdom defeating the Rohin Kingdom and assimilating their land, along with the Daedra Territories who would be conquered soon after, into their own. After the Three Kingdoms War Grandon, the king of the Southerners by the end of the Three Kingdoms War, sought to strengthen the unity of all Corisian factions through several means. His initial action was to rename the new empire Maturus, which was a combination of the leader's names of their former nations, Matice of the Rohelins and Rustin of the Daedra. Grandon's next step was to reform the official Church of Eiyastn to incorporate the teachings of the orthodox Rohelins. While this particular action angered many of the Syltian and Bankian followers of Eiyastn who had deviated from the orthodox ways, the religious contention was short lived. Grandon's most significant mandate as emperor however was his reservation of the large tracts of new land to the new citizens of the empire. These actions as well a few smaller ones were essential in unifying the Corisian factions under one banner, however old national identities and racial tensions still lingered throughout the new empire for many years. As the new empire grew over the years and conflicts with the Lithdarians arose once again, class divisions slowly began to eat away at Maturian unity, however all conflicts soon grinded to a halt when the Tocaderg ushered in the War of Darkness. For the first time, the Corisians and the Lithidarians allied together against a common enemy and were eventually joined by the Fendra and the Awsecs. Though the allied nations prevailed against Tocaderg, the effects of the war and it's aftermath in their states were poorly handled and the Maturus Empire was no exception. Through the alliance of nations, later called the Strata, was one of the great achievements towards a world-wide civil society the depression that hit after the war nearly tore it apart from the beginning. The Dust Depression as it would come to be known hit the Maturus Empire hard and brought the tense divisions between the rich and poor to a stand-off. Post-War of Darkness The Maturian Revolution that eventually exploded ended the capture of Emperor Maxis and forced the signing of the People's Doctrine. The People's Doctrine was a series of policy and government changes, the most significant of which was eliminating the absolute monarchy and replacing it with the current dual chambered executive of constitutional monarch and a council system. While the Maturian Revolution did not end the depression it did relieve many of the poor of their immediate troubles by redistributing the money from the rich who had kept up to 99% of the wealth of the nation during the depression. The doctrine had many long-lasting effects as well such as the prevention of limitless tax burdens on the common citizen. The end of the depression came when the Lithidarians introduced the Great Recovery, a series of trade and economic modernization policies that was eventually spread to all members of the Strata. By the Age of Avowal the Strata nations, which finally became an official alliance, had returned to a relatively normal state of affairs. Class divisions and old racial grievances in the Maturus Empire however remained a thorn in their society. After experiencing a long drought period a chain of events occurred to spur the anger of the Belecan region of the empire. Tensions between the east and west grew to the breaking point after the public discovery of a secret war the Maturus Empire had been conducting with Rohelia, the isolated remnants of the old Rohin Kingdom. Many Belecans were descendants of the Rohin Kingdom. The Western Revolution soon broke out, the end of which gave the Belecan people their independence from the empire as well as a merger with Rohelia. Shaval the Soul Thief ushered in the Age of Separation with the War of Fire. The Strata nations defeated the Koll armies once again but only after heavy costs both monetary and life wise. While the depression that followed afterward was not as severe or as long as the Dust Depression it still took quite a toll on the Maturus Empire. Though it was short lived, the Nidogav Empire, first nation of the Claka, was very aggressive in it's pursuit of destruction in the Maturus Empire even after the war. However the Nidogav Empire began to collapse within a few years after the war's end and the Maturians in response allied with Kolis Beleca, the people which separated from the Maturians, and went on the offensive to ensure the demise of their empire. The Mountain War as it was called was one of the shortest international wars ever fought, within a year the Nidogav Empire completely collapsed and ceased all attacks on the eastern nations. Near the end of the Age of Rastiad the Claka of the Guv tribe re-surged in the east and threatened Kolis Beleca and the Maturus Emprie. The two nations who were also joined by the Lithidar Kingdom began a campaign to drive back their influence westward across the Pass of Anguish. As of the Age of Rebirth this was the last major conflict involving the Maturus Empire. When the Lithidar Kingdom discovered the continent of Gar to the far east and colonized it during the Age of Atheid, the Maturus Empire began making plans to follow in their footsteps. Before the War of Fire many attempts were made to colonize the continent however they all failed at some point due to various factors like food, weather, Claka attacks or disease. The Maturus Empire did not make any attempts to colonize the continent again until later in the Age of Rastiad when the first successful Maturuian colony was created called Mendeltown. With the success of their first Gar settlement the rest of the colony grew quickly throughout the Age of Rebirth. Geography All of the Maturus Empire lies south of the equator but most of it is located not far from it. It's realm covers almost all of the Southern Peninsula and borders the Lithidar Kingdom to the north and Kolis Beleca to the west. On the mainland of Lethoso the empire has the largest official borders of any nation in the world and is only rivaled by Nevnavi to the western end of the continent. The official borders of the mainland Maturus Empire measures approximately 311,500 miles2 , one of the largest continuous areas of directly controlled land in the world. The empire's largest overseas territory is Solstus Island measuring in at 62,900 miles2 , it's neighboring islands to the south and east clock in at a combined total of over 13,000 miles2. The other two major island territories off the mainland coast are Ivani Island to the south and Marrowgin island to the east, both of which also have smaller neighboring islands. Ivani Island is approx. 36,280 miles2 while its nearby isles combined cover only about 190 miles2. Marrowgin, the smallest of the major island territories spans 15,230 miles2 and it's close knit isles combined measure about 200 miles2. The main features of the land of the mainland Maturus Empire include the mouth of the Kurgen River as well as it's southern most branch and the foothills of the Belon Mountains. Most of the mainland empire consists of small forests and large lush grasslands in the north and dry plains, rocky hills and tall-grass to the south. The mainland empire also sits mostly on the Belon land-shelf which is the slow incline towards the Belon Mountains from north to south. As a result Paragon is the highest village in the mainland empire above sea-level. The rest of the empire not including the colony on Gar includes Marrowgin Island, Ivani Island and the Solstus Isles. Ivani Island has one of the highest average elevations of any island in the world and many of the cities and towns on the island are some of the most elevated non-Turpen cities in the world. Meanwhile the lowest areas in the empire are on the Isle of Gregor off the coast of Solstus Island, specifically Grahm's Cayon which cuts across the whole island. Environment Despite lying so close to the equator, temperatures in the Maturus Empire average around 25º C yearly. This is due mainly to lying between two different air currents, the cooler-dry air from the south that comes over the Belon Mountains mixing with the warm air from the eastern Sol Daria ocean from the north. The two different air currents which the Maturus Empire lies between are somewhat regular throughout the year and as such the empire on Lethoso changes little through each season save for temperature swings between fall and spring. Humidity levels vary greatly across the empire. The foothills of the Belon Mountains near Carigithen and Granite are known to be some of the hottest and driest areas in Lethoso depending on the time of year. The Draspa Drieden Lakes have been known to dry up completely during the fall though this occurs rarely. Meanwhile the northern regions of the Maturus Empire experience regular flooding and high humidity during the wet seasons in the fall and spring, receiving anywhere from roughly 10 to 15 inches of rain during those seasons. Because of the different varied terrains of throughout the Maturus Empire, the wildlife is justifiably diverse. Perhaps the most notable species prominent in the Maturian Realm is the Egrar, one of the most widely domesticated and versatile animals in Strata societies. The Egrar was first domesticated during the early Age of Awakening, their use as mounts and for work in general helped create a more advanced society from transporting messages faster to carrying heavy loads across long distances. Of course the Maturian region as far more diversity in it's wildlife.